Each class dragged on, and I counted down the minutes until I would have to drag myself into detention, and even worse, call my parents to tell them I had gotten detention. Honestly, I didn't need to be paying attention in class, because picking out my funeral casket probably would have been a better use of my time.
I made my way towards the photography room, ignoring Matt calling after me. Or trying to anyway, until he sat down next to me in the classroom.
"Hey, Ryan! I was calling you in the hallway before, could you hear me?"
"Guess not." I responded, dropping my bag to the floor as I began digging for my camera.
"Anyway, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot." He continued blabbing to me, though I distinctly remember the absence of the only thing I was looking to hear; an apology. Instead, I kept my focus on the clock plastered above the door. Just fifty more minutes.
And then detention.
"And so Allison and I are going to this rave on Friday and I just figured you and maybe Scott and Stiles could hang out because I think Scott might not get that Allison and him are over ya know? And I just don't want him to rui-"
I sighed heavily, turning towards Matt with a glare. "Listen, I'm sure whatever you're going on about is just riveting, really, but I have more important things to think about right now, so if you could just…not." I turned my attention back to the clock, hearing him grumble about how I was a moody bitch as he got up and moved his seat, but not really caring all too much about it.
No, my attention was on a very tall boy with curly brown hair and piercing blue eyes clad in a leather jacket making his way over towards the now empty seat next to me. He paused next to the seat glancing at me before hastily sitting down. I rolled my eyes, making a point not to look at him, until he leaned over towards me as the bell rang.
"We need to talk," his voice held an urgency that unnerved me but I held my ground.
"O-oh we do?" I shot my eyebrows up, giving him a considering nod as I turned my attention back towards the clock. "Just you and I? Or should I go and give my parents a call?" I heard him sigh, clearly frustrated already.
"I'm guessing you're still mad about that?"
"I'm sorry, when you do something to make a girl push you out of her window, do you typically expect her to be over it the next day?"
"I wouldn't know, you're the only girl who's ever pushed me out of her window."
"Well other girls probably would've called the cops if someone broke into their room uninvited, so I'm guessing that's the kind of thing you only get to do once before you're put behind bars." I leaned forward on the desk, resting my head against my palm, staring at the clock intensely. I just needed this day to end.
"Ryan come on! This isn't a joke, I need you to be serious!" He yelled in a hushed whisper as the class began to work on their assignments.
"I am being serious, breaking and entering is a criminal offense. What are you even doing here, you're not in this class." I picked up my camera, pointing it at the clock and snapping a quick picture to make it at least look like I was getting some work done.
"Yes I am. I just never come." I turned towards him, raising an eyebrow and he gestured towards the petite brunette teacher lounging at her desk, her face buried in a book. "Harmon never takes attendance."
I raised the camera again, not so much aiming as pointing and shooting, and snapped a quick picture of him, hoping it would turn out hideous and I could blow it up and hand it out around school, classic Mean Girls style.
"Give me that," he hissed, snatching the camera away from me. I started to get up, to jump on him and wrestle him to the ground if I had to, but he placed a hand on my shoulder, gently but forcefully pushing me back down into my seat. "You don't want to make a scene right now. Trust me."
"Then paws off." I snarled, ripping the camera out of his grip and placing it gently back down on my desk.
"All of the wolf puns are getting kind of old."
"All of the wolf drama is getting kind of old." I retorted, crossing my arms and sinking down in my seat. I glanced back up at the clock like it was an old friend. Only ten minutes had passed?
"Ryan, it's about Avery." I shot up in my seat, slightly startled by the mention of her name. So it really had all been real.
"How do you know her?"
"Listen it's complicated but she's looking for you." It was as if everything in the world paled for a moment, as his words sunk in. Ava was here, and she was looking for me. She was looking for me. Did she miss me? Was she ready to forgive me? Maybe things could go back to normal. Maybe something good was finally happening to me.
"You need to stay away from her though, do you understand?" Isaac's voice snapped me back to reality, and I gave him a look of disbelief, ready to start another argument, when I heard a light tap on the door. It was so light that it was barely inaudible, the rest of the class oblivious to it. But Isaac and I both turned towards the door, at the subtle disturbance of monotonous classroom chit chat. Avery stood looking in through the small window beside all of the doors in school. Her dyed blonde hair, porcelain skin, light brown eyes boring holes into my head. She didn't say anything, didn't wave or gesture at me. All she did was stare.
Then she looked over at Isaac. A small smirk spread across her face, and with one final glance at me she nodded once, before disappearing. She was back. Ava was back and she was looking for me. Maybe she was here to see what I was up to, to check up on me. Maybe she wanted to be friends again.
Ava had always idolized me. I was like a second sister to her, minus all of the bickering and arguing that real sisters do. She always came to me for advice, to tell me her secrets, especially things she didn't think she could tell her sister. Ava hung out with me almost as much as Casey did, and sometimes I felt like Ava actually liked me better than Casey did.
"Ms. Harmon I have to go to the bathroom," I mumbled, gathering my things together and shoving them in my bag before getting up.
"Ryan!" Isaac grabbed my arm, a frantic look on his face. "Did you not just hear what I said? You need to stay away from her!"
I ripped my arm away, shaking my head at him. "I'll stay out of your way, if you stay out of mine."
"No, Ryan," he let out a muffled noise of agitation as I made my way to the door. "Ms. Harmon, I need to go to the bathroom too!"
"One at a time please Mr. Lahey. Besides, you should be spending as much time in class as possible, since you never seem to come to class." Ms. Harmon smiled warmly at him, but the underlying threat was clear. I could've hugged her.
Instead I ran out the door into the empty hallway.
"Ava?" I called, making my way down the hall before turning the corner. She stood leaning against the water fountain, her arms crossed, that same small smile plastered on her face. She looked up at me, her big eyes blazing and I immediately felt my stomach drop. Isaac had been right. I should not have come out here.
"We need to talk Ry," her voice was harsh and accusing and I instinctively took a step back.
"About what?" From an outsider's perspective it would have been hard to tell that Avery was actually a few years younger than me. My voice was shaky, and my hands began to tremble. I knew where this was going and I knew I wasn't ready for it.
"You know what." She took a step forward, and I took another step back, shaking my head.
"I-I don't really think this is the time Ava." A shiver ran down my back and I felt my body collide with someone else.
"Ryan?" Isaac grabbed a hold of my arm, steadying me so I wouldn't fall backwards. I barely registered his presence though, as another shiver racked my body. "God, you're freezing." He murmured, turning his attention back to Avery.
"You can't keep avoiding everything Ryan! You killed Casey! You can't just run away from that!" Ava shouted, coming closer. Isaac stepped in between us, pushing me behind him slightly. I felt like I was being submerged in ice water, the cold seeping from my chest outwards, engulfing my entire body.
"Avery, get out of here." He growled, and I looked down to see his fingers tipped with sharp claws. I gave his arm a tug, pulling him back.
"Please, you think I'm afraid of a werewolf that can't even properly control his shifts? She'd be better off with a feral puppy for a bodyguard."
"Werewolf? Ava how do you know about werewolves?" I slowly looked up at her, confusion and shock dancing across my face. I felt as though I could no longer control my emotions, as though I could no longer regulate them. Any emotion I was feeling was just shining through my face, as if I were screaming "I'm scared!" or "what the fuck?" and I hated it. I hated it I hated it I hated it. I felt the coldness around my chest turn to heat, and suddenly I felt flushed, as if I was burning up.
"I know a lot more than you do Ryan. Stop acting like a naïve child and take responsibility for what you've done!"
"I am not acting like a child!" I yelled back at her, my hands balling into fists.
"You are! You killed your best friend and never once thought to question it? You never once thought maybe you should stick around and just deal with all of the things that you fucked up?"
"I didn't want to leave…" I pleaded, my anger dissolving into desperation. This was Ava. Little Ava, who followed me around with her doll and asked me to teach her how to braid it's hair. Little Ava, who baked me cookies whenever I was upset. Little Ava, who I left in a broken family. Of course she was angry with me.
"But you did, didn't you? You didn't fight to stay. You just left."
Little Ava, who couldn't place the blame on anyone other than me.
"There are some things that you don't always have control over Ava!" I shouted, narrowing my eyes at her. It was as if she wasn't even listening to me. "Moving here was not something I had a say in, and you know that!"
"Ryan, forget it. She's just trying to get to you. We need to get out of here, before teachers show up." Isaac urged, his eyes scanning both sides of the hallway. With all of the screaming we were doing, Isaac was right. Teachers were going to start popping out of their classrooms soon to investigate, and I already had one detention my parents were going to skin me alive for. I couldn't afford a second one.
"Ava, I can't do this right now. I can't. I'm sorry." I whispered, shaking my head and willing myself not to cry. I turned my back on her, pinching the bridge of my nose to try and stall the headache I felt coming on.
"And there you go, running away again. God, how was I ever so stupid to look up to someone like you? Do you fight for anything? I bet you never even cared about Casey! I bet you never cared about us! You are despicable Ryan, I have never seen someone so disgustingly fake in my life! Fight for something Ryan. Stop being a coward and fight for something!" I stopped dead in my tracks, her words playing on repeat inside my head. Despicable. Disgusting. Fake. Coward. Fight. Fight. Fight.
Before I knew what I was doing, I spun on my heels and swung, my balled up fist making contact with Ava's face. She hit the ground hard, completely unconscious. I stared at her for a minute in horror, turning to look at Isaac, who was staring at me with wide eyes.
"I hit her." I said out loud, to myself more than to Isaac. "I hit her." I repeated, somewhat dazed.
"Yeah, I saw and heard that, loud and clear." Isaac nodded, looking at Avery, lying on the floor. "Now we really need to get out of here before someone comes." He grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the classroom. I shook my head, yanking my arm back.
"I can't just leave her here!"
"Why not? Someone will find her and she'll get busted for trespassing since she's not actually a student here. Problem solved."
"Uh no, problem not solved. Problem still lying unconscious on the ground. Unconscious, not dead. What happens when she wakes up and decides to tell people the crazy girl with PTSD knocked her out for no god damned reason?!" I yelled in a hushed whisper, my arms flailing angrily at sides.
"Okay this may just be my crazy aggressive male mind speaking, but it looked like you had a pretty good reason to hit her."
"I'm not leaving her here Isaac. She's my friend!" He cocked an eyebrow at me, as if to remind me of the past five minutes. "She was my friend." I amended quietly. "Until I majorly fucked up her life. She was right. I owe her at least this." I set my jaw, crossing my arms stubbornly as I stared him down. He sighed, grumbling angrily under his breath before he bent down and scooped Avery up into his arms.
"Go back to class." He nodded down the hallway, as if that could send me off. When I didn't budge he let out a frustrated sigh. "Now what?"
"How do I know you're not just gonna dump her in the janitor's closet or something?" I cocked an eyebrow, giving my foot a light tap.
"Oh for christ's sake. Fine, don't go back to class. Do whatever the hell you want since no matter what I say that's what you'll do anyway-"
"Took long enough for that to sink in." I retorted, as he shot me a glare.
"But whatever you're going to do better involve getting out of this hallway. Or you're gonna be in more trouble than you are already."
"How did you-"
"Go!" He hissed, knocking on the closest classroom door. I groaned, spinning around and pulling on the handle to the door behind me. It was unlocked, thank god, and I slipped in, surveying the paper towels, soap bottles, and boxes of pens and pencils that surrounded me. Supply closet. Not the most original but it would do. I pressed my ear to the door just in time to hear Isaac give an academy award winning performance.
"Excuse me? You need to help me, I was walking home when I found this girl passed out on the sidewalk by the school. I don't know what's wrong with her. Maybe drugs, or she hit her head or something? Just please, help her." he gushed in the worst impression of a worried and panicked tone I had ever heard. But the teacher seemingly bought it as I heard a few gasps and an "Oh yes of course".
The door opened, slamming into my jaw and I jumped back, rubbing it.
"Ow," I glared at Isaac, clearly annoyed as he shut the door.
"You had to pick the supply closet to hide in?" He looked around nervously, his hand compulsively twisting the knob every few seconds as if to make sure it still worked.
"You know you didn't have to follow me in here…"
"Yeah well I happened to pick the one classroom that was being used for a teacher's conference, and they all started calling more teachers in. I did not need to be seen or recognized. I'm already in a shit ton of trouble too."
"Yeah, how did you manage to get Harmon to let you out of class?" I cocked my head to the side, leaning it against the wall. He pulled out a pink Detention slip from his back pocket, flashing it to me briefly before shoving it back without a word. He had gotten detention to follow me? "Oh." Was all I could say.
There was so much running through my head and I didn't know how to make sense of any of it. Ava and everything she was saying, Isaac risking a lot just to make sure I was okay, not to mention Allison had agreed to go out with Matt? It had taken me a while to process that one, but thinking of how my day had snowballed, the thought found its way back into my mind.
Instead of the things that I couldn't explain, I decided to focus on the things I could.
"Are you okay…?" I asked, eyeing Isaac as he continued to fiddle with the handle.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm just…not a big fan of small spaces." He pressed his ear to the door before opening it and eagerly exiting. "Now go back to class before you make a volcano erupt or something." He rolled his eyes, his hand rubbing at the back of his head with agitation.
"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" I cocked an eyebrow at him, planting my feet and refusing to leave.
"It's supposed to mean that you don't know when to quit. She was right, you are always involved in some kind of trouble."
"Who was right? What the hell are you even talking about? And if I'm so much trouble, then when did you feel so inclined to come after me?" I squinted at him, shaking my head angrily.
"Cause I'm a good Samaritan." He answered bitterly, with enough venom in his voice to make me flinch.
"What the hell's your problem?" I narrowed my eyes, giving him the nastiest look I could muster up at the moment.
"You don't think Ryan! You just go running into trouble without a single thought as to who is going to have to come and save your ass!"
"I didn't ask you to come save my ass. My ass didn't need saving!" He grabbed my arm suddenly and pulled me down the hall quickly, bending his head slightly as he passed each classroom door.
"What the hell are you-"
"Shh! You're being too loud, someone's gonna hear us." Finally he picked a door, opening it and dragging me into the empty classroom before closing it quietly.
"Maybe this time you didn't need saving. But what would have happened if Avery was more aggressive? The very mention of her name sends you into an anxious panic!" he leaned back against the door shoving his hands into his pockets as I sat atop one of the desks, leaning back on my arms to glare at him.
"I can be aggressive."
"If you managed to snap yourself out of a panic attack, maybe." He countered and I rolled my eyes, looking away. "You can't be so inconsiderate Ryan. You can't just do things like this and not care about the consequences!"
"I do care about the consequences. God of course I fucking care about the consequences! If anything my problem has always been that I care too much. I didn't ask you to come after me, I never ask anyone to come after me, or risk their safety to protect me, or-"
"The problem isn't that you don't care about other people Ryan, the problem is that you don't care about yourself!" His voice shot up an octave and I fell silent, looking up at him with wide eyes. My brow furrowed and I tried to form a coherent thought, but my voice refused to work. So he continued, pacing slightly in front of the door, his eyes on his feet.
"You have people who care about you now Ryan. And if you got hurt, they would be hurt."
I started to shake my head at him, mumbling under my breath. "You're wrong, that's not-"
"You really think if Scott or Stiles were there they would have let you just prance out like that?"
"What do you care about Scott or Stiles?" I grumbled, staring at my lap and feeling like a small child being told to sit in the corner.
"I-I don't. But you do."
"You're not making any sense." I met his eyes, my own gaze stubborn and unyielding.
He sighed, looking down. "I know. Trust me, I fucking know." He shook his head, his eyes rising to meet mine once more before he seemed to get very uncomfortable, reaching for the door knob behind him. "Go back to class. I'll see you in detention."
"Isaac, wait-" and with that he left, shutting the door behind him with a quiet click. I let my body fall back down, my back aligning with the desk as my head dangled off of the edge.
I made my way back to class, only half surprised to find that Isaac had not returned, and sat it out taking bullshit pictures of my desk for the twenty remaining minutes. As soon as the bell rang I sent my mom a quick text telling her I was staying after school, deliberately being as vague as possible before turning the phone off and shoving it into my pocket. Then, with my head held high, I proudly marched to detention like the badass I was not.
Everyone stood corralled in front of the library until Harris led us inside, as everyone claimed a table. Matt, Jackson, Isaac and Allison at one, Scott, Stiles and Erica at the table across from them. I made the executive decision to sit by myself, so that no one could pester me about anything, supernatural or otherwise. Frankly I had had enough of werewolves and kanimas and creepy guidance counselors for one lifetime.
"Uh, we can't be in the same room together. I have a restraining order against these tools." Jackson scoffed, setting his backpack down on the floor.
"All these tools?" Mr. Harris questioned skeptically, raising an eyebrow at him.
"No, just us tools." Stiles pointed to himself and Scott, clarifying, and I rolled my eyes, letting my head fall into my arms resting on the table.
"Fine. You two, over there." Harris motioned towards the table I was seated at and I groaned, slamming my head down against my arms a few times.
"Oh, oh I'm sorry Ryan, are we not friends anymore?" Stiles sat down next to me, the sass at an all-time high. "Because it's not like we've saved your life or anything!"
"Actually, if I remember correctly, and I do, I was the one who saved your life. So check yourself." I tilted my head up, peering at him through narrowed eyes.
"What the hell is your problem today?"
"I'm just tired of being dragged into supernatural shenanigans only to later be told to stay out of everyone's way because I'm a liability." Stiles blinked at me a few times, before shaking his head slightly.
"…Excuse me? What-what does that even mean? We told you we'd protect you!"
"How generous, considering if it weren't for you two I wouldn't need protecting in the first place."
"You. Do. Not. Know. That!" Stiles enunciated each syllable precisely, whispering urgently and managing to spit all over my face. I made a face, sitting up to wipe my sleeve across my cheek as Scott turned away from his glaring match with Jackson, looking at us again.
"I'm gonna kill him," he started, rocking back and forth in his seat, oblivious to anything me and Stiles were arguing about. He couldn't sit still, his hands balled up into fists on the table as if he were ready to pounce any minute.
"No, you're not. You're gonna find out who's controlling him, and then you're gonna help save him." Stiles said as if he were reciting a nursery rhyme to a small child. Scott glanced over his shoulder once more to give Jackson another glare before turning back to us, shaking his head.
"No, you were right. Let's kill him." Scott set his jaw stubbornly and Stiles let out a groan while I dug out a pen, tracing it along the wood grain of the table.
"Or you could just sit back and wait for Derek to kill him." I spoke slowly and casually, keeping my eyes on my pen as I tried to snap Scott out of his murderous rage. His eyes flicked over to me as if he had just noticed I was there, and his body relaxed slightly before tensing up again.
"Why is Isaac staring at you?" He whispered, eyeing the other wolf warily over my shoulder, reminding me very much of a big brother. My own body tensed up, my cheeks flooding with heat as I looked at Scott with wide eyes.
"What?" I spun around in my seat, and as soon as I met Isaac's eyes he looked down, fiddling with his hands. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Scott to give him a small shrug. "Maybe he's staring at you." I offered pathetically and Scott cocked an eyebrow.
"Hey," Stiles interrupted, leaning closer towards us. "What if it's Matt? I mean this whole thing comes back to the video right?"
Scott sighed, folding his arms and resting his chin on them, nodding to himself. "Danny said that Matt was the one who found the two hours of footage missing."
"Exactly!" Stiles splayed his hands out in front of him triumphantly. "He's trying to throw the suspicion off of himself." We all looked over towards Matt, who was carefully popping chips into his mouth.
"So he makes Jackson kill Isaac's dad? One of Argent's hunters? The mechanic working on your jeep?" Scott narrowed his eyes in confusion, giving his head a small shake as he worked through the situation at hand out loud.
"Yes!"
"Why?"
"Because….he's evil."
"You just don't like him."
"The guy bugs me, I don't know what it is."
"I'm actually gonna have to agree with Stiles on this one." I interjected, as both boys stared at me; Stiles with a look of pride, Scott with a look of disbelief. "I don't know. There's just something about him that makes me feel like something's…not quite right." I shot Matt another glance over my shoulder, remembering the cold chill that spread through my body the first time I had ever met him.
"Just…look at his face," Stiles scrunched up his own face, watching Matt offer his bag of chips to Jackson, who was currently beating Derek in the Beacon Hill's pouting pageant. Scott looked back at us skeptically, his eyebrows arched on his forehead.
"Any other theories?"
Jackson stood up suddenly and I felt my body tense up all over. He held his head as he grabbed his backpack, making his way towards the door.
"I have to go to the bathroom." He groaned out, as Mr. Harris looked up from the desk.
"Hey are you alright? You don't look so good," Mr. Harris stood up and Jackson waved him off, walking by him.
"I just need to get some water," Harris followed him to the door, turning towards the rest of us as an afterthought.
"No one leaves their seats." He said in what I presume he thought was a "threatening voice". I rolled my eyes as he dashed out the door, following Jackson down the hall. Stiles and Scott bolted up immediately, moving back over to Erica's table, nearly colliding with Isaac who had made a beeline for Erica as well. Stiles snagged the seat beside her, and Isaac scowled at him, settling for the seat across the table, next to Scott.
Scott shot me an encouraging smile, before turning to give Isaac a stern look. I knitted my eyebrows together and despite everything I laughed, shaking my head. Scott and Stiles were really something else.
"Stiles says you know how Jackson's parents died." Scott looked at Erica, who was idly drawing in her notebook.
"Maybe."
"Talk!" he commanded, leaning forward in his seat. Isaac rolled his eyes before giving Erica a small nod.
She flipped her notebook closed, tossing it down onto the table. "It was a car accident. My dad was the insurance investigator and every time he sees Jackson drive by in his Porsche, he makes some comment about the huge sum of money he'll be getting when he's 18."
"So not only is Jackson rich now, but he's getting even richer at 18?" Stiles clarified, disbelief coloring his voice.
"Yep."
"There's something so deeply wrong with that." He shot a look at Scott, who nodded.
"You know what?" Erica asked, flipping open her laptop in front of her. "I could try and find the insurance report in my dad's inbox. He keeps everything." There was a loud bell, the loudspeaker making everyone aware of an announcement before a woman's voice, Allison's mother, spoke.
"Scott McCall, please report to the principal's office." Everyone stared at Scott while he rose from his seat, slowly picking up his bag and making his way out of the library with an extremely confused and cautious look on his face. Erica returned to typing, her fingers quick and precise over the keys.
"If you're gonna eavesdrop, you might as well be over here to help." Erica smiled, her eyes remaining glued to the computer screen.
"I wasn't eavesdropping." I narrowed my eyes, gathering up my things nonetheless. "It's not my fault none of you people know how to whisper." I dropped my bag on the floor, taking a seat next to Isaac, who was looking increasingly uncomfortable.
The library door opened and I tensed up in my seat, waiting for Harris to walk back in and give us all another detention for moving. But instead he came in silently behind Jackson, who looked as if he had just ran 23 miles, a thin sheen of sweat and water coating his face.
"Woah, look at the dates!" Stiles pointed towards the computer screen as Erica enlarged the files she had pulled up.
"Passengers arrived at the hospital D.O.A. The estimated time of death: 9:26 pm, June 14th 1995."
"June 14th? That's my birthday." I remarked offhandedly, settling back into my seat.
"Oh, congratulations death really has plagued you your entire life." Stiles grumbled sarcastically, and I narrowed my eyes at him, giving him a hard kick under the table. He let out a yelp and I smiled, noticing Erica giving me a weird look out of the corner of my eye. She glanced up at Isaac, who cleared his throat, scratching at the back of his neck nervously.
"So how is this relevant?" he asked, looking from Erica to Stiles and back again.
"Jackson's birthday is June 15th." I stared at my hands for a second, wondering how that could even be possible before all of the gory answers to my question popped up into my head. Jackson must have been cut from the womb of his dead mother. I winced, turning to look at him again. As vile of a person as Jackson had seemed to me in the few short days I had known him, I still felt a twinge of guilt for the poor baby that never had a chance to know his real family.
I was startled out of my thoughts by the sound of a loud zipper, and turned to see Harris packing up his bags. Everyone did the same, and I let out a breath of relief at being able to finally leave. Maybe I could make it home quickly and tell my mother that I had stayed after for extra help or something, maybe even say it was a club or-
"Ha ha ha oh, no I'm sorry," Harris laughed, sounding 100% not sorry. "Uh yes, I'm leaving. But none of you are. You may go when you're done with the reshelving." He patted the two mounds of books haphazardly thrown onto carts, grinning at all of us like Maleficent reincarnated. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."
"I'd enjoy it more if it involved throwing you off the side of a cliff and into shark infested waters." I muttered, earning a jab in the ribs from Isaac.
"Hasn't your mouth gotten you into enough trouble as it is?"
"I'm sorry, last time I checked Harris didn't have your super duper werewolf hearing. Unless there's something else you guys need to tell me?" I cocked at eyebrow, scooping up as many books as I could carry. He shook his head slightly, grabbing a few books of his own and following me quietly down the aisle.
"What is with you today?"
"You do seem more rabid than usual," Erica nodded, passing me to put a few Harry Potter books away.
"Piss off." I snarled, and she smirked at me, as if I'd proven her point. Which I had. I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Sorry okay. I don't feel too great today."
"Why not?"
I contemplated telling them about the weird feeling I had had all day, the almost-car-accident with that boy in the morning, Ms. Morrell practically drugging me, the uncontrollable mood swings I'd been having since then, the weird dream, all of it. And that's when I realized I really was acting weird and not like myself. Why the hell would I tell Erica and Isaac, of all people, my problems?
"I don't know. I just feel off."
"Is it because of Avery?" I jumped, realizing Isaac was right behind me, his lips inches from my ear. His voice was gentle and quiet, catching me so off guard that I dropped the book I was reaching to put away. I gave my head a small shake, hoping to spare another unwanted conversation, as he reached over me, putting a Wuthering Heights book on the shelf above my head. He bent down and collected the book I had dropped, handing it to me with a small nod and going back to the cart to retrieve more.
I let out the breath I didn't know I had been holding, and looked at Erica, who was watching me with a coy smile.
"You know, we would've been really good friends."
"We still can be. Once you, ya know, stop trying to kill all of my friends." I gave her a look and she laughed, genuinely smiling at me.
"I guess we'll just have to see how all of this plays out."
"I guess so." I smiled back at her, before feeling a dizzying kind of ache above my left eye. I quickly dropped my head into my hands, stifling my yelp of pain as I heard a loud crash and glass shattering.
"Isaac! Erica!" Scott yelled from a few aisles down, as Erica whipped her head around, letting out a vicious snarl. A barrage of ceiling tiles and books began falling, as Jackson darted across the tops of the aisles, the lights shattering as he flew by.
I ran to the end of the aisle, trying to assess the situation, but was met only by a ringing in my ears and more falling debris. My head pounded, watching Erica look around frantically for any sign of the kanima. Jackson, half transformed, leapt down from the bookshelf, landing directly behind her, his claws closing in on her neck.
"Erica!" I screamed, darting towards her a second too late, as she let out a shriek and fell to the ground. I froze as Jackson stared me down, his head cocking to the side in a way that was reptilian at best, and I felt my skin crawl. Again, I was hit with the sudden realization of how truly helpless I was in the situation, nothing more than a silly little girl with bad luck.
I retreated, backing up until my back hit the shelves as Jackson took a step towards me. I heard a deep growl from beside me and Jackson's eye twitched, before he leapt up again, vanishing from sight. I felt something ram into my side like a freight train, knocking the wind out of me.
"Get down!" Isaac ordered, pulling me against his body as he dragged us to the floor. I covered my head, feeling cuts and bruises already forming against my arms and face. There was the sound of crunching glass and sparking wires alarmingly close and I looked up to see one of the lighting fixtures, shattered and still flickering, in the spot I had been standing seconds ago.
Wires dangled from the ceiling, sparks flying all over the place as Isaac stood up, pulling me to my feet. At the sound of another roar, my body went in to panic mode, and I grabbed Isaac's hand, pulling him down to duck behind the shelf. I saw Stiles and Allison crouching on the ground in the next aisle, and hastily made my way over to them.
"Scott?" I called, looking at them before he came barreling into the aisle, yellow eyes blazing. He positioned himself in front of Allison, throwing an arm out in front of her in a protective gesture. He stared at me, surveying the small cuts on my face.
"Are you alright?" He asked, pointing to his own face as if to remind me I had been hurt. I nodded wordlessly, ducking behind Stiles to see what he was staring at with a look of pure disturbance.
Looking over his shoulder I found my answer. It was something straight out of a horror movie. Jackson stood in front of the chalkboard, looking extraordinarily like a marionette puppet, his eyes glazed over as he stared into space, his arm shooting out to write something across the board.
Stay out of my way or I'll kill all of you
He bouned up onto the bookshelf again, smashing through one of the windows and out of sight. We all rose slowly and quietly, looking around as if we had just survived the end of the world. Allison followed Scott as he approached the chalkboard, anger and panic written all over his face.
"Woah hey hey hey hey hey!" Stiles yelled, running over to Erica, who was spasming on the floor. He scooped her up carefully into his arms, as her convulsions grew worse. "I think she's having a seizure!"
"Get her on her side!" I yelled, pushing my way past Isaac, who was staring at Erica in pure horror. "Cushion her head," I commanded, watching Stiles's fingers fumble through her hair, trying to brace her neck. I shrugged off my flannel, folding it up and lying it on the ground, before gently laying Erica's head atop it.
Scott and Isaac made their way over to us as Allison went into the next aisle, to check on Matt who was passed out on the floor.
"He's alive!" She called over, after checking his pulse and flipping him over onto his back.
"We need to get her to a hospital!" Stiles yelled, and Erica caught at his sleeve.
"To Derek! O-only to Derek," She choked out.
Scott turned to face Allison through the shelf, sighing as he contemplated possible options. "Okay, when we get her to the hospital-"
"Take her to Derek," Isaac chimed in, holding Erica's hand and squeezing it every few seconds.
"To Derek. To Derek," she repeated breathlessly.
"Go," Allison nodded, prompting Scott to get up and run over to her in the next aisle.
"Scott!" Stiles called after him, looking desperately at me and Isaac.
"I'm staying here with you," Scott's voice was soft, and held a hint of pleading, as if being separated from Allison would physically hurt him.
"He-he can't take her alone. Not like this. A-and Matt, I've got to call an ambulance for him, just..go." She was shaking, and I felt her anxiety transfer to myself, watching my fingers begin to tremble. All I wanted was to go home and crawl into my bed, hiding beneath my covers for as long as I could. I didn't want to deal with this anymore. I didn't want to deal with these supernatural things that I just was not equipped to handle. I was tired of being in the way.
But I looked down at Erica seizing on the floor, and the only thought running through my mind was "Please don't let her die." And that was when it hit me that she might. She might die here, on the library floor, if someone didn't do something fast. I stood up shakily, taking a deep breath to steady myself, before turning to Stiles. Be brave Ryan, be brave.
"Come on Stiles, we need to get her to Derek. Now." Stiles looked at me, a bit unsure, throwing another glance in Scott's direction, and I repeated myself, a little louder. "Now Stiles!"
He blinked at me, a bit taken aback, but nodded as Isaac took Erica, and followed him out to the jeep.
"This doesn't feel right!" Scott objected, desperation coloring his voice.
"It's okay,"
"No, it's not! N-no it's not right."
"They need you Scott," Allison coaxed, and I cleared my throat, warranting their attention.
"We need to go." My voice felt small, and I gave Scott a look of sympathy. I hated being the one to drag them away from each other, but Allison was right. We needed Scott.
"It doesn't, it doesn't mean anything." Allison promised, nodding at him almost as if she was trying to assure herself that things would be okay.
"But it feels like it does!"
"Scott, go. Go!" He looked at me reluctantly before giving her a kiss on the forehead. He turned back to me, placing his hand on my shoulder and giving it a squeeze as he led me outside to the parking lot. I barely had time to actually climb into the back of Stiles's jeep before he slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, swerving out onto the street.
I wish I remembered the drive to the subway station where Derek and his pack were apparently living, but all I could hear was white noise, a deafening static so loud that I had to cover my ears with my hands just to think straight, and all I could see was a swimming blackness, dotted with fragments of friends.
"Ryan?" The jeep jerked to a halt, snapping me out of my miserable trance, and I looked up at Stiles, who was climbing out of the car. Derek and Scott were already making their way inside with Isaac trailing behind them. "Are you okay?"
I nodded at him, making an effort to sit up and climb out of the car, but I just felt so heavy, like my muscles were coated with lead. My body went limp and I fell out of the car, gravel scraping across my skin. I groaned, feeling a sharp pain shoot up my side from where I landed and before I knew it, Stiles was helping me back inside the jeep, tucking me safely into the back.
"Hey, hey Ryan, look at me, hey." He held my shoulders as I started to sway, my eyelids drooping as the world grew blurry. "Why don't you stay in the jeep? You can get some sleep okay?" I nodded, leaning back against the seat and letting the blackness take me.
I awoke in my bed, sitting up to let my eyes adjust to the dim lighting in my room. It was dark outside, and the clock on my nightstand read 9:23pm. There was a small piece of paper wedged under it, and I picked it up, unfolding the edges carefully.
Ryan,
We found you still asleep in the jeep when we got back. Didn't wanna wake you, so we just carried you home. Told your parents about the extra help for Economics and then the study session at my house. Told them how you had a panic attack and fell into my glass coffee table. Hope your bruises heal soon. Call if you need anything else. Rest up. J
-Scott
I felt a single tear run down my cheek, though I wasn't sure why. I sniffled, wiping at it as I stared at the note. My phone began buzzing loudly inside my bag on the floor, and I stumbled out of bed, quickly digging through my books to find it. I fished it out, reading the unknown number displayed across screen before I shrugged, answering it.
"Hello?"
"Please, you have to tell them." A woman's voice answered, unfamiliar and strained. "It killed Sean."
"Sean? Who's Sean?" I asked, my voice sounding brittle and weak. "Miss, I think you have the wrong number, you should call the police."
"The police can't help me. They won't listen. It wasn't human."
"What? Who is this? What are you talking about?"
"They're working…together…" the voice choked out a horrible gasp, as if she was suffocating. "My poor baby…"
"Miss? Are you okay? Who is this?" I repeated, hoping to get some kind of answer.
"It was because of my baby, I know it was. The…thing couldn't kill me. That's why he had to."
"Miss?" I swallowed thickly, my mouth feeling extremely dry. "Who's he? What did he have to do?"
"YOUHAVETOFINDTHEM," she screeched. "YOUHAVETOSTOPTHEM," Her voice took on a satanic tone, so terrible I could practically feel the future nightmares I would have about it. I hung up the phone, dropping it to the floor as if it was on fire.
The woman's voice echoed in my head over and over again as I climbed back into bed, my hands shaking. You have to find them. You have to stop them. I shook my head clear and reached for the remote, needing to rid myself of the silence that seemed to be trying to choke me. I clicked the power button and the news came up, a woman dressed in a blue blazer looking particularly saddened.
"Breaking news; Sean Murphy was killed last night by an animal attack in the woods. His wife, Julie, made it out alive with their unborn child. However after successfully delivering their little baby boy, Julie died from oxygen deprivation in the Beacon Hills Hospital at 7:17pm. What will become of this poor baby? More on this at 10."
Sean. Animal attack.
Delivered their baby. Oxygen deprivation.
7:17pm.
My head swam as I practically fell out of bed, diving for my phone still lying on the floor. I dialed the number as fast as I could, perching on my windowsill as I waited for someone to pick up.
"Ryan?"
"Scott, we have a problem." My voice was uneven and I felt lightheaded, but I took a deep breath and continued. "A big problem."
"What? What is it, is it Jackson? Are you hurt?"
"No, uh..no." I bit my lip, tapping my foot nervously in an attempt to calm myself down. "Did you hear about that man that was killed last night? Sean Murphy?"
"Uh yeah. Yeah, he was a Beacon Hills alumni. Why?"
"I uh…I think I got a phone call from his wife, Julie."
"Okay…Julie, Julie…I've heard that name recently. Didn't she just pass away?"
"That's the problem Scott. When I got the phone call from her…she was already dead."
A/N: Dun dun dunnnnn! Hello friends, I am back! I'm so so SO terribly sorry it took me so long to update, life has been pretty hectic. But alas, it is here! I had originally wanted to get this posted for the premiere but obviously that didn't happen...soooo have it for the second episode of season 4 instead! :D
A huge huge thank you to everyone who has favorite and followed this, and a special thanks to emele807, Guest, kaljara, Guest, BriancyyD, Melanie, Lyla D, and Kazuha159 for your lovely comments! :]
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and again sorry it took so long to get published! Let me know what you think! :D
-Briana